Cinder Fell
by drakensis
Summary: The mysterious woman who helped Roman Torchwick escape from Glynda Goodwitch and Ruby Rose was captured... but she hit her head and has no memories. Clearly she should be sent somewhere she can be reformed while still kept under supervision... no, not a prison. Back to school.
1. Nyanza Doe

The two visitors stopped outside the private room. It wasn't one of the lush suites made available for patients who were willing to pay for extra privacy and/or comfort. The room wasn't any better provided for than any of the other wards - it could be said that it was worse off since it lacked its own window.

It couldn't even really claim to offer privacy. The door had a large window and there were mirrors placed that anyone at the door could see the corners of the room without entering.

The man crooked his finger and his companion didn't bat an eyelid at using the window and mirrors to evaluate the occupant. Her nod was almost imperceptible and he waved his scroll against the door, unlocking it and then pushing it open and holding it for the woman with him.

The patient looked up from the bed but didn't say anything as the visitors studied the display at the foot of the bed. Her vitals scrolled across it, along with her identity.

"Nyanza. That's a pretty name."

"They picked it at random." The patient didn't try to hide the fact she was studying her guests as much as they were examining her. "But you know that."

Without asking, he took a seat next to the bed and his companion stood like a guard behind his shoulder. "It's recorded that before the Great War, all of the unidentified were called John Doe or Jane Doe, depending on their gender. There's a little more individuality to this."

"Perhaps you're right." She inclined her head. "Thank you for the history lesson."

The man sipped from the mug he held in one hand. "You're welcome. I'm told you have no recollection of how you came to be here?"

There was a sniff from the woman behind him, but the woman in the bed nodded ruefully. "It's hard to believe? I suppose it is. It's really hard for me to prove the absence of memories. I can guess that it's important. You're both huntsmen, after all."

"It shows?"

"Something about the way you move…" She shook her head. "I can't put my finger on why, but I'm sure."

"Not everyone with those sorts of skills is a huntsman… but you're right. My name is Ozpin and my companion is Professor Goodwitch."

Amber eyes narrowed. "Ozpin. It's familiar, somehow." She looked at the woman. "I'm sorry, I can't say the same for your name, Professor."

"Ironically, we've met before."

The patient's breath quickened almost imperceptibly. "I see."

"Professor Goodwitch brought you here," Ozpin advised her. "Two nights ago, after an altercation on the rooftops of Vale."

"An… altercation? Somehow that sounds as if I was in trouble. I mean… it's obvious I'm in trouble now. Or that I am trouble." The amber-eyed woman gestured dismissively. "Or all of the above?"

"There was an armed robbery," Goodwitch replied tersely. "A man named Torchwick and several associates were driven out of the shop they'd attacked by a trainee-huntress. She gave chase and I was able to come to her assistance before she bit off more than she could chew."

"I'd imagine that if I was the trainee my identity wouldn't be in doubt. So I'm an associate? I can't say that that speaks well of me."

Glynda nodded in confirmation. "You weren't a participant in the robbery. Torchwick escaped in a bullhead and you'd been aboard it. When I arrived, you held me off and he left you behind."

"So much for loyalty. I'm impressed though. Holding my own against a huntress." A little smile danced across her lips. "My, my."

Ozpin lowered his mug. "Yes. It's quite rare for someone the Huntsman Guild has no record to be able to hold off someone as accomplished as Professor Goodwitch, particularly with the support of quite a talented young woman."

"And I suppose that you're here to take me off to my lawful detention… since I'm evidently a dangerous criminal." She pushed the bedsheets down. "If you'd called ahead then I'd have dressed for the occasion."

"I believe," Ozpin said seriously, "That someone with your talents belongs in a certain institution. Somewhere that you can be supervised, yes. But also somewhere your potential can receive the opportunities you deserve. The fact you're not registered with the Huntsman's Guild suggests that you've been overlooked and I find that disappointing."

She gave him a thoughtful look and then shrugged. "I'm not quite following your meaning. You can't mean…"

The man nodded. "How would you like to attend Beacon Academy?"

"You can't be serious."

"Unfortunately, he is."

The patient looked at Goodwitch. "You just told me I'm a criminal."

"Strictly," the professor said with evident reluctance, "You're an accessory. A prison sentence would mean two, perhaps three years at most. And then you'd be on the streets with a criminal record logged in all four kingdoms, with nowhere to go except back into a life of crime. The headmaster feels that that would be a waste of your potential."

"Headmaster?"

Ozpin nodded.

"You're in charge of a school?"

He saluted with his mug and sipped again at the contents. "Well? Are you interested?"

"It sounds… better than most of my alternatives, right now."

* * *

"Ruby!" Taiyang called from the porch. "Your scroll's ringing!"

His youngest daughter looked up from where she was playing with her dog. "My scroll?" She checked her pockets and came up empty.

With a sigh, Taiyang held out the device. "You left it on the side."

"Oh. Oh yeah!" she scrambled up and blurred to the porch. "I didn't want to drop it when I was playing with Zwei."

Her father turned away as she opened the device but he paused, ears pricking up as she opened it and he heard a familiar voice.

"Ruby Rose."

"Professor!" Ruby exclaimed. "I'm sorry."

There was a pause and Taiyang could picture the face of Glynda Goodwitch staring out of the scroll over her spectacles. "And what are you sorry for, Miss Rose?"

"Uh, keeping you waiting?"

"It'll be important to keep your scroll on you at all times at Beacon," the Beacon's combat instructor observed with only a mild note of chiding.

"Yes ma'am"

"It seemed best to inform you that you may see a familiar face when you arrive at Beacon." There was a sigh. "You'll remember the young woman I… we… captured during your little adventure a few days ago."

"The one who was throwing fire at us?"

Taiyang's eyebrows jerked upwards. 'Fire?' he mouthed to Ruby. She'd said something about defeating some robbers and drawing the attention of Ozpin. He didn't particularly doubt her ability to handle a few minor mobsters but this sounded a little more serious.

"Yes. She will also be enrolled at Beacon this year."

"But she's a criminal!"

"She claims to have no recollection of her identity. That being the case, the Headmaster decided to give her a second chance."

Ruby stared down at the scroll. "Do you want me to keep an eye on her?"

"No," the teacher said sharply "That is the responsibility of the staff. I'm informing you simply to avoid any pre-emptive action on your part on seeing Miss Doe - such as attacking her or advising your fellow students of her past. Either of which could force her out of Beacon and possibly back into crime."

"In light of her declared amnesia she should not remember you. If you do see any sign that she is not, as she claims, bereft of her memory - and you are not to go looking for that - then you should inform me. Do not, under any circumstances, take action personally."

"Oh."

Goodwitch made a satisfied noise. "I look forward to seeing you at your initiation, Miss Rose." The call cut off abruptly.

"Fire?" Taiyang said, a little louder than before. "Ruby, have you been keeping secrets?"

She giggled nervously and scratched the back of her head. "Er… I might have forgotten to mention a couple of details."

"Oh really?" He stared down at her. "Memory problems sound like they're going around. Maybe you shouldn't go back to Vale without adult supervision until it's time to go to Beacon." One hand rose. "And no, Yang doesn't count for that."

"Sorry…"

"I worry about you," he pointed out. "I know you're up to dealing with minor things. The odd Beowulf is one thing but it sounds as if you were fighting another aura-user."

"Well, there was only her and that Torchwick guy that were anything much."

"Torchwick? That would be Roman Torchwick, the wanted criminal?"

Ruby made a confused noise and gave him a helpless look that made him want to wrap her in a blanket and keep her home for the next ten years or two. Her father fought the urge down with the aid of long practise. "Yang!"

"Whatever it is," his elder daughter called down from her bedroom, "I didn't do it!"

"Does that include your chores?"

"I'm good! I've done everything." In a quieter voice she added, "I think…"

Taiyang shook his head. "Come out here."

"Allez-"

"And don't jump down the stairs."

"Awwww." She descended the stairs without causing more damage to the floor at the bottom. "What's up, sis?"

Ruby developed a sudden interest in the floor.

"It seems Ruby's little scuffle in Vale last week was a bit more exciting than she let on. You haven't been fighting any famous criminals without telling me, have you Yang?"

"Who, me?" Yang grabbed her sister in a headlock. "Keeping back the good stuff, sis? Nauuughty!"

Taiyang folded his arms and waited. When Goodwitch said she hoped my kids were just like me, she wasn't wishing me well, he thought to himself.


	2. The Shining Beacon

The ride to Beacon wasn't what Nyanza Doe had expected. For one thing it was aboard an airship and she spent the ride to the school in the viewing gallery that ran along the underside, seated on the benches alongside and looking out of the windows for anything that might jog her memory.

For another, she was surrounded by children.

She knew that the enrolling age for Beacon, like all four of the Huntsman Academies, was seventeen and that the students at the start of the school year would be at most three years older than that. The soot-black haired young woman hadn't realised until she encountered them just how young that seemed or how loud they could be.

Her newly issued identification listed her date of birth as unknown but she was now confident that it was at least twenty years in the past. Looking at her reflection in the glass she didn't look out of place amongst the other students but judging the age of a Huntsman or Huntress could be difficult as she recalled from… somewhere… that aura use tended to improve health and remove the usual signs of ageing.

"The light of one's soul," she murmured. A fragmentary phrase from somewhere.

Her clothes weren't a perfect fit, perhaps. Most of the children preferred colourful clothes reflecting Vale's traditions of individuality, but with no money of her own, Nyanza had only the clothes she'd been captured in and what she could buy with a small allowance from Beacon's bursary for that purpose - fortunately Professor Goodwitch had accepted the argument that a change of clothes was a hygienic necessity. Since she'd worn her red dress the day before, she now wore faded black jeans and a sweater she'd mostly chosen because it matched the colour of her eyes. Dull clothes, but practical.

The docking of the airship saw a surge of students out into the campus. Rather than get caught in it, Nyanza let the flood go ahead and then strolled out onto the dock. Beacon, with its large gardens and buildings that radiated out and around the central tower, was quite a sight. Not a familiar one but… admirable.

"My new home…" She paused as she heard a retching sound. "And other people's." When she looked around it appeared the noise wasn't a reaction to her though - a boy was leaning over a wastebin and dry-heaving into it.

This is one of my new 'peers'. What have I let myself in for? "Are you… ill?"

"Just… motion sickness."

"Motion… sickness?"

"It's a much more common thing than most people realise." The boy looked at her and blinked. "Er… I'm Jaune."

"Nyanza."

"That's, um, a lovely name for a lovely lady," he said brightly, if clumsily and with obvious intent. Not that he was wrong, of course.

A sudden explosion further down the docks averted the need to answer and Nyanza looked around for sign of an attack or something of that nature. There didn't seem to be any follow up or any sounds of violence… oh, except for someone complaining shrilly from the direction of the explosion.

"What was that?"

"It sounds like an accident, no one seems to be hurt."

Jaune frowned and then hastily walked in that direction, which Nyanza decided was a perfectly good way to end what would probably have become an awkward conversation so she walked in another direction. Anyway, the new students, which - sigh - included her, were supposed to gather in the amphitheatre which seemed to be…

Well maybe there would be a map somewhere.

Looking around, she saw a girl with dark hair tied by a black bow walking confidently in what seemed to be the direction of the centre of the school. Well, it was plausible that the amphitheatre would be somewhere central. Nyanza hastened her pace slightly to follow the other girl. She received a sidelong looks with amber eyes only a shade or two different from her own as she caught up but no comments so she returned none, simply nodding and looking around for landmarks.

Fortunately she seemed to have guessed right in who to take cues from because the route took them towards a large domed building with an open floor overlooked by balconies. Scores of students at the younger end of the age spectrum were forming clusters that were probably based on pre-existing relationships… combat schools and the like.

Nyanza's… companion would be too strong a word… didn't fall into one of these, instead turning to one side and moving to prop up the wall. Perhaps she was simply unsociable or didn't come from Vale. Which was entirely different from her own decision to also stand near the back and observe the crowd. She was being observant. Taking in the sight of her future classmates.

"Oh who am I kidding?" she muttered, getting another sidelong look from the younger girl even though she hadn't stood all that close to her. Was she being louder than she intended?

When she didn't say anything else the bow-haired girl pulled a book out of her pocket and opened it, evidently finding it more interesting than the teenaged babble in front of them. Smart girl.

Nyanza was just wishing she'd brought a book of her own - if she'd had a book of her own - when a particularly shrill voice cut across the sound of the students. It sounded like it might be the same one as before. "You!"

"Oh god it's happening again!" a second voice protested.

"You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff."

"It was an accident, it was an accident! What's this?"

Nyanza saw girl in white, with white hair in a flowing ponytail practically forcing a booklet on to another, younger looking girl, this one in black and red. "What's that about?"

"Weiss Schnee. Heiress of the Schnee Dust Corporation."

She remembered the company from somewhere. Maybe her memories of before weren't lost. "The ones with the…"

"Questionable employment practises?"

"Yes, that's what I was thinking," she lied.

"She brought dust with her. There was an accident."

"And she's blaming the other girl? And we're going to likely have classes with both of them?"

"Uh-huh."

Nyanza reached up and pinched the brow of her nose. The girl with dark hair made a sympathetic noise and went back to her book.

Before the urge to strangle got too strong, there was a crackle of feedback and they all looked towards the stage where Ozpin had taken up position. Professor Goodwitch was flanking him, which Nyanza was beginning to think was her default position.

* * *

The school's ballroom was apparently where freshmen would be kept - Nyanza tried not to consider this as 'herded' - until their initiation the next day.

Whatever the initiation was, it was apparently going to take all day and probably involve combat. Which, given that Nyanza didn't currently have a weapon, could be a bit of a problem. She'd been assured that she could use the tools and materials - within reason - of the workshop class to address that, but that required getting through initiation without one.

The murmurs of interest around the room as some of her classmates took in the unaccustomed experience of seeing the other gender's sleepwear was a reminder of another deficiency in her equipment. In the privacy of the hospital room she'd not needed to worry about what to wear in the bed. The hospital gown wouldn't have been adequate here though, even if she'd wanted to take it with her.

That left her with a choice between improvising the bare minimum that was socially acceptable - or less than that.

She'd been tempted to simply go with nothing and see who reacted but for good or ill she was going to have to co-exist with the other students for the next few years. Doing so with a reputation as an exhibitionist - or worse - wasn't something she was excited about.

Then again, she might not have been the only one making an unfortunate impression.

"Hi Nyanza," Jaune said as he laid out his sleeping bag next to hers in apparent ignorance of the atrocity he was wearing. Only the fact he was setting it out with the head end opposite from hers left her any grounds at all not to maim him. "Do you mind if I sleep here? I don't know that many people here yet."

"Jaune. What are you wearing?"

"It's a onesie!" He turned around to show it off. "Isn't it great? It's so comfortable it's like I'm walking around in a sleeping bag all the time."

"It looks like it as well."

The only response she got was a baffled look and she rolled her eyes, feeling a throbbing begin behind her brow. "Never mind," she told him and rolled onto her back, pulling her sleeping bag closed. "Get some sleep. Tomorrow could be a difficult -"

"Wait, what are you doing!?" exclaimed a girl loudly - the one the Schnee heiress had been picking on earlier - as she was hauled halfway across the ballroom by the blonde next to her.

Nyanza rolled over to watch and saw the pair of them were approaching the bow-haired girl she'd seen earlier. She'd still not even caught the girl's name but she'd holed up at the edge of the room and had her nose buried in a book, which was certainly more sense than she'd seen from most.

Perhaps she'd make a good team-mate? Hunters studied in teams, from what she knew.

The conversation, from what Nyanza could hear and see wasn't exactly going well. The smaller girl was clearly awkward, the quiet girl evidently didn't want company and the blonde was trying force things along.

Although at least she had names now. Blake, Yang and Ruby. The latter two were sisters. Two apples that must have fallen very far apart from the whatever tree had spawned them.

"Friends of yours?" asked Jaune.

"I don't have any friends." That sounded pathetic. "Yet, anyway."

"Hey, you got me! And Ruby's nice, a bit quirky, but nice! I can introduce you!"

"Sure, whatever." The two sisters had apparently got distracted and started brawling. Nyanza felt her brow twitch. How old were they? Twelve?

Someone else had noticed too and a pale figure was stalking towards the pair. As tempting as it was to just let that play out, that shrill voice wasn't something her burgeoning headache needed. She slithered out of the sleeping bag and headed for the incipient confrontation.

Attention on the girls she didn't see Jaune staring in something between admiration and bemusement at her rear, barely covered by her panties.

"What in the -"

"Ssshhh." Nyanza cut the Schnee off with a hiss, raising one finger before her lips. The heiress stopped, as much in surprise as anything, and the woman turned to the other two. "Would you…"

"Sorrygottogotobed!" exclaimed Ruby, eyes wide as she looked at Nyanza, still clinging to her sister's ankle. "Comeonyang!" She darted suddenly back towards the sleeping bags.

"Wait, Ruuuby!" the blond yelped as she was dragged. There was a thump as she hit the floor with her shoulders and head.

"Uh…" Nyanza stared after them for a moment. Was it something I said? Do I have something on my face? Shaking it off she looked at the other two girls, neither of whom seemed likely to enlighten her. "Well… that happened. Good night Blake, Miss Schnee."

"Good night," Blake answered, already looking back at her book.

If the Schnee said anything, Nyanza missed it. If dealing with these… kids… is going to give me headaches like this, maybe I should have chosen prison.

Jaune was waiting when she got back to her sleeping bag. "Wow, you really sorted them out." At least he'd the sense to moderate the volume of his voice.

She nodded and slid back into the bag. "Good night, Jaune."

"Night."


	3. The First Step

**The First Step**

Nyanza had planned on waking early to get an early shot at the showers. The problem with the plan was that having said good-night to Jaune she'd not been able to sleep. With scores of students in one room there was always some noise or disruption. Although she'd lain on her side, eyes closed, she reckoned that it wasn't until past the witching hour that she managed to doze off - and then woke again well before dawn as someone rolled over and began to snore.

Her last recollection of the night was of pulling her sleeping bag over her head to hide from the first hints of light outside. When she opened her eyes again the morning sun was streaming through the windows and the ballroom was half-empty.

Oh great… I slept in.

With a sigh she unzipped the sleeping bag so it would air out and headed for the lockerroom. Hopefully there would still be hot water for the showers. As a school, presumably Beacon would have planned for hundreds of people showering at once - although centuries of human institutions failing to plan for such obvious eventualities suggested that she might be being overly optimistic.

Judging by the way one boy walked into the end of a column of lockers, she wasn't the only one who hadn't slept well.

"You again."

"What?" she asked looking around as she reached her locker. Oh, the Schnee girl again.

"Don't you have anything more appropriate to wear in mixed company?" the whitette said, not looking directly at her.

"Nope." Nyanza popped the P as she flipped the locker door open.

"Nope?"

"Miss Schnee, I'm sure you realise you come from a relatively privileged background." She wrapped her towel around herself and started peeling off her sports bra. "And I assure you, I'm envious rather than jealous, but we don't live in an equal society. Some, like you, have more. And others have less."

Returning her underwear to the bag she'd set aside for dirty laundry, she took the door to the locker and paused. "Aside from this towel, everything I own in the world is in this locker."

"E-everything?"

Nyanza closed the door with a little more force than was strictly necessary. "Everything. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need a shower." She sniffed the air lightly and then gave the girl a cool look. "And if you'll pardon me for saying so, I'm not the only one."

For a wonder the showers did still have hot water. In fact it was practically steaming and Nyanza luxuriated under it for as long as she thought she could, soaking her hair. She'd really need to get some shampoo and conditioner once she had more lien…

"AHHHHH!" she screeched as the temperature of the water went from scorching to icy. "What the hell was that for!?" she demanded of the blonde with her hand on the controls.

"I wanted your attention," Yang told her. "Plus if you got any steamier in there things would be getting X-rated."

Pff. As if she'd lose control like that. Nyanza stepped up close to Yang so she could reach out and turn the water off. "You have my attention. You might regret that."

Yang's eyes were sliding into a more crimson hue, something about her aura. "And you're going to regret whatever you did to my sister."

"Your sister… that would be Ruby?"

"Yeah, now spill!"

Nyanza feinted left and then slipped around Yang to the right, reaching her towel. "No idea."

"Wait, what? Come back here."

Instead she wrapped her hair in the towel and started drying off. If this came to a fight she wanted it to be perfectly clear she'd not thrown the first punch. Which wasn't to say she didn't intend to be the one who threw the last one. "You heard me."

"It must have been something."

"Well, if you find out -" She could practically feel Yang's aura tensing to prepare for an attack…

"Is something wrong?" asked a voice with a Mistral accent. Nyanza pushed the towel back and saw a red-head looking at them curiously. Interesting that she recognised the accent. Might that mean she'd visited the eastern kingdom?

Yang stepped back. "No, nothing's wrong." She glared at Nyanza and then made an exit.

"Are you alright?"

Nyanza managed a confident smile. "Just a misunderstanding. Still, thanks for stepping in."

"You're welcome." The girl offered her hand. "I'm Pyrrha Nikos."

She seemed to expect some sort of reaction but nothing sprang to mind so Nyanza simply accepted the offered hand and introduced herself. "Nyanza Doe."

That got a smile that seemed disproportionate to the small gesture. "Good luck in the initiation, Nyanza," Pyrrha said warmly before stepping into the stall and turning the water on.

The near-freezing water. Her yelp of shock carried clearly and Nyanza stepped over to turn the temperature back up out of pure pity.

RWBY

Among the reasons Roman Torchwick had turned to a life of crime - perhaps not foremost, but among them - was that he almost never had to deal with mornings. The underworld functioned for the most part in the evenings and nights, something that suited him down to the ground.

Unfortunately, Cinder's lackeys were inconsiderate of this basic etiquette and had chosen to bother him first thing in the mid-morning.

"How could you lose Cinder!?" exclaimed the green-haired thief.

"Well I looked around and, what do you know?, she wasn't there." He twirled Melodious Cudgel in his hand. "What do you want from me, kid? She's a big girl who can look after herself."

She glared at him. "Yes, but..."

"She didn't give us any indication she was planning to drop out of sight," Mercury Black observed from where he was standing behind his companion. "Since you're the last person to contact her…"

"What do you think, that I stabbed her in the back?"

There was a distinct lack of denial.

"Really? I'm flattered you think she'd lower her guard around me… and obviously I am very charming, but I'd think you know her better than that." Torchwick shook his head. "I'm sure she'll turn up as soon as she deals with whatever came up." Or not, but his luck hadn't been that good lately. Since he met Cinder, really. "In the meantime why don't you just keep doing whatever she last told you to do? That's what I'm doing."

"Our last instructions were to check in with her," Emerald pointed out.

"Well go look for her then. Shoo, I'm a busy man." He waved his hand.

The black-clad assassin grunted and Roman readied himself. The boy didn't seem as impulsive as his partner but he wasn't exactly the best disciplined person the hat-wearing criminal had ever worked with either. "Where did you last see her?"

Roman took a pad of paper out of his pocket, along with a fresh cigar. Sticking the latter in his mouth he lit it and put his lighter away before picking up a pen and scribbling down an address. "Right around here. She was in the back of a bullhead."

"And she just jumped out."

"I assume so." He sat back and puffed on his cigar. "She doesn't seem to appreciate me questioning her decisions but maybe she's more forgiving with you two, eh?"

"We'll look into it." Mercury pocketed the information. "Depending what we find out, we may be back."

"I feel so privileged."

Emerald shot a glare at him as she followed the boy out. "If you turned on Cinder…"

"Yeah, yeah. Keep your shorts on, kid." He blew cigar smoke into the air as they left and then tilted his hat down over his eyes once the door was closed. "Peace at last. Damn drama queens."

RWBY

Initiation began on a cliff at the edge of the campus, overlooking a forest well below. Given Beacon's imposing position it was quite a long way down and the first year students were all lined up on a long rank of one-man platforms. It didn't take a genius to guess at their function.

Once again Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch were overseeing the new students. "For years, you've trained to become warriors," the green-scarfed headmaster reminded them. "And today your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

Well that didn't sound so bad. Probably there were Grimm down there but it was unlikely the staff at Beacon would allow anything too dangerous this close to Vale City.

Professor Goodwitch cleared her throat, "Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumours about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates. Today."

And that would be the other boot crashing down. Hopefully she'd get some of the more mature students on her team.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon so it is in your best interests to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." The headmaster paused and sipped on his coffee. "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

...what?

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path - or you will die."

Nyanza clenched her fists. Well. After this morning that sounded almost appealing. If only she had a weapon. She considered her hands. Hmm. Two weapons. That sounded better, one in each hand. Swords perhaps? Was that was she usually used? Professor Goodwitch hadn't been forthcoming on the specifics of the fight earlier.

Ozpin paused again for more coffee. "You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation," he continued. "But our instructors will not intervene. You'll find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and we'll grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

Jaune raised his hand. "Yeah, uh…" he began in a nervous tone.

"Good, now take your positions."

Most of the students quickly began bracing themselves and producing weapons.

"Uh, sir? I've got a… question…"

"Jaune," Nyanza said as the first launch platform fired off, sending its occupant hurtling off over the waiting forest. "He's not going to answer."

"But, how are we getting…"

She pointed to the side where more students were taking off. "Does that answer your question?"

"Oh," the boy said in a small voice.

"Good lu-" The platform beneath her fired the brunette off into the sky before she could finish the words.

A moment later, there was a girly shriek from behind her. Well, he should be okay. He wouldn't be at Beacon if he wasn't qualified.

Nyanza glanced at the position of the sun and where other students were coming down. She wouldn't have said she had strong preferences but of the people she'd met so far, Blake and maybe Pyrrha seemed preferable.

The pads clearly hadn't thrown everyone the same distance and differing approaches were scattering them further...

Nyanza spotted Pyrrha off to her right, beginning to arc down into the treetops. Well, that would probably make this as good a place to land as anywhere.

Gun retorts ahead brought her attention back to see Ruby firing a large weapon forwards, to slow her momentum. It wasn't having much effect, but enough to alter her trajectory towards a particular tree.

Of course, she was doing this with Nyanza not all that far behind or - as it happened - below her. Slowing herself dropped the girl down into her path, right as she was whirling her gun around and into a…

"Watch out!" Nyanza screamed as a rather large scythe swept towards her. She flung out her hands and an explosion between the two blasted them apart, and sideways into the treetops.

If it wasn't for her aura then hitting even the upper branches would probably have done Nyanza considerable injury. As it was she bounced embarrassingly off two trees before she gave up on controlling the fall and curled up into a ball. She was wearing her red dress - her good dress - her only dress. If this got wrecked she'd do something petty and vengeful to the cloaked girl. Then Yang would at least have clear cause for the two of them to have a nice, cathartic…

Thump. She hit the ground.

A nice cathartic fight. Nyanza dusted herself off. The dress had survived, as had both of her shoes. Admittedly the glass high-heels did spectacular things to her calves but she wasn't sure how practical they were in the forest. She'd have to find out the hard way.

"Oh my gosh are you o...kay?"

Nyanza covered her eyes before eye contact could be made. "Yes, I'm fine. How are you?"

Ruby hesitated in the bushes she'd been pushing through. "Sorry!"

"I accept your apology." She paused and then grudgingly admitted, "And it was probably as much my fault as yours. You're not hurt, I hope."

"No? Uh, why are you covering your eyes? And where's your weapon? You didn't lose it, did you?"

"Given that you ran away from me yesterday, it seems sensible to avoid eye contact. If you find me that… whatever, then we might not make good partners."

"Auo."

Under her hand, Nyanza could see Ruby twiddling her fingers awkwardly. "Fine, whatever." She turned on her heel and dropped her hand. A little Aura underfoot kept her heels from digging into the forest floor. "Best of luck, Ruby."

"Wait!" The girl scampered to keep up. "It's not that, I mean it's not you… it's just…"

"Hmmm?"

"I think Professor Goodwitch wanted me to avoid you."

Nyanza stopped. "What? Why…" 'driven out of the shop they'd attacked by a trainee-huntress'. No, it couldn't be. Forgetting her intentions to avoid eye contact she looked sideways. "You were the one with her when I was captured."

Ruby dropped her silver eyes to study the floor. "Yeah…"

I'm the adult here. I'm the adult here. "I suppose it was a little smug of me to think that it would take Goodwitch more than a seventeen year old to have captured me," Nyanza forced out through gritted teeth.

"Ahh...hahahaha."

RWBY

"FIFTEEN!?"

"Who's that?" Jaune called in the direction of the scream. "And could someone help me? I'm a little… stuck."

He was indeed stuck, a spear having caught him through his hood as he tumbled into the forest and left him dangling from a tree. A well-meant spear, to be sure. And well-aimed. But his best efforts hadn't thus far got him loose and with his armour strapped to him, he couldn't even slip out of his hoodie to get down from the tree.

"Jaune?"

He looked down and saw a pretty redhead standing at the foot of the tree. Well, pretty wasn't a strong enough word. Pyrrha was gorgeous, he admitted. Way out of his league, of course. She was on Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow cereal boxes, for crying out out loud!

She folded her arms in front of her, under her chest. "Do you… have any spots left on your team?"

"Do I… The question is, do you have any spots left on your team?" he exclaimed.

She smiled up at him and he just about died. Their eyes had met, that meant they were partners now. Not together-partners, but wow anyway. "You're the first person I've met since I landed."

There was a god!


	4. Emerald Forest

**Emerald Forest**

"So you didn't tell me about your weapon," Ruby pressed as the two of them walked generally northwards through the forest, Nyanza taking the direction from the sun's position.

She ducked under a branch, careful not to get her hair caught on it. "I'm between weapons right now."

"That's terrible! What happened?"

Nyanza gave her companion a steady look until she blushed.

"Oh… right. Sorry."

"It's fine. When I get the chance to use the workshops at Beacon I can put something together."

"Ohh! I can help!" Ruby was practically dancing. "I'm good with tools - uncle Qrow taught me everything - I made Crescent Rose." She whipped out the storage mode of her weapon, which unfolded into the scythe Nyanza had seen before.

The blade didn't actually come within twelve inches of her but two trees weren't so lucky. Nyanza had to refrain from flinching away. "Sure. I'd be glad of the help."

"Yay!" Another tree.

"You probably shouldn't dull the blade on the trees though."

"Oh." Ruby giggled. "Sorry. I guess I got carried away… again."

"Mmhmm. So you like weapons?"

"Sure. Why wouldn't I? They're an extension of ourselves, they're a part of us. They're so cool!"

She could feel a smile tugging at her lips. "You read a lot of comics, don't you?"

"What… I'm not a kid!"

"Of course not. You wouldn't be at Beacon if you were," Nyanza lied. All the students - well most of them - were kids. "I'm just saying you're… a romantic. Nothing wrong with that. Anyway, I think I might have trained with two swords in the past. Did you see anything like that?"

"You kind of threw fire at us."

"That sounds like... aura or dust manipulation." Nyanza frowned. "Probably semblance related?" She'd caused that brief blast earlier - it could be the same thing, if not so refined. Something to work on.

"Are you sure it's okay to be out here, unarmed? 'Cause there are - beowolves!"

Nyanza looked around and saw an entire pack in the clearing they'd just entered. "I'd agree with that."

The young girl readied her scythe, all business suddenly. "Don't worry, I'll protect you."

...really. This was happening? "Not a good strategy. We need to thin their numbers." Ruby was fast and that scythe suggested she could hit hard. The gun was large caliber too… "Can you handle that?"

"Sure I can. But -"

She raised her hand. "I believe in you, Ruby. Please believe in me." Ash-like shards formed in Nyanza's hand and she flung them automatically into the face of the nearest Beowulf. They exploded in fire - enough to make the creature howl in pain but not enough to fell it. "I can hold up my end of this partnership."

In return she got a beaming smile. "You're gonna be glad you partnered with me!" And then Ruby was gone in a blur of crimson.

"I think I already am." The injured beowulf leapt at her but it was slow and clumsy. It was child's play for Nyanza to sidestep it, seize one wrist and hurl it against a tree. The trunk broke and branches crashed down upon the grimm. Undaunted it tore it's way free, scattering the branches. Nyanza caught a suitable one and leapt up.

When she landed, the narrow end of the branch was speared through the beowulf's face. The black body fell to the floor, already beginning to dissolve away.

A part of Nyanza took in the rest of the clearing - Ruby was using the recoil of Crescent Rose's shots to blast herself back and forth, forcing the beowolves to keep switching their attention around. Only those nearest to Nyanza were focused upon her - the little brunette was very distracting and her every shot was dropping members of the pack

The rest of Nyanza's attention was on the branches. That one looked right and… Right before the next grimm reached her, she found what she was looking for and kicked it up into the air. One stick in each hand, she met the beowulf, slipping past its attack and smacking at its side with her weapons. While they might lack an edge she could reinforce them with her aura - to an extent.

A second beowulf was behind the first and she spun, driving her right-hand stick back-handed into the creature's chest and withdrawing the branch before it snapped. The first had turned and she smashed it directly across its bony face with the stick in her left hand.

The beowulf staggered back and she kept the pressure on it, batting both paws aside with her weapons, then somersaulting backwards to catch it under the chin with the point of one of her shoes.

Landing, Nyanza saw the beowulf tumbled backwards, stunned momentarily. Reflexively she brought her weapons together at the grip and… what was that supposed to accomplish?

Staring at the two sticks cost her a precious moment and she had to fall back into a defensive stance as the Beowulf regained its feet and lunged at her. One more deflection, she side-stepped… and then Ruby was there, between one instant and the next positioning her scythe so that the Beowulf impaled itself on it.

Well, that was an embarrassing performance, Nyanza thought.

"That was so cool!" Ruby folded Crescent Rose again. "You were all hwaaa! Hycha!" She waved her arms around in a rough approximation of Nyanza's sword movements. "And you killed grimm with just some sticks."

Nyanza looked around at the remains of the pack - all of which were coming apart on the ground, slain by the little grimmicidal maniac she'd been partnered with. Her lips quirked up. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

"You did well too, Ruby. And I have a better idea about what sort of swords I might want to make. But we should probably keep looking for this abandoned temple."

"Oooh!" Ruby looked upwards. "I have an idea!"

RWBY

On a cliff overlooking the Emerald Forest, Ozpin and Goodwitch were looking at the trials and tribulations of their new charges, keeping a professional demeanour despite the understandable trepidation. They were too far away to intervene if anything went seriously wrong and for many of the students, this was the first time they really faced danger without someone on hand to mitigate the risks.

More than their skills in combat and survival, more even than the ability to form teams and work together, the initiation was about that step out of safety. Fatalities were not unheard of… and both teachers were praying that they wouldn't end the day writing letters to be returned home alongside a would-be huntsman's personal effects.

"Our last pair has been formed, sir," Glynda Goodwitch reported, not taking her eyes off her scroll as she paced back and forth. "Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. Another pairing to worry about… although not as much as some of the others."

Ozpin didn't look up either. "You're still concerned about Miss Doe and Miss Rose."

"Miss Nikos' partnership may have edged that out."

His eyebrows arched but the Headmaster didn't grant her more than a sidelong look.

"I don't care what his transcripts say, Jaune Arc isn't ready for this level of combat." She closed down the display and looked out across the forest. "We'll find out soon if I'm right."

A flick of Ozpin's thumb scrolled through the teams. "Sometimes the most troublesome teams are the ones with the most potential."

"Several of our troublemakers will reach the temple in the next few minutes," Goodwitch pointed out. "And since you mentioned Ruby Rose, she's at an impressionable age. I'd have preferred it if she wasn't exposed to criminal behavior this early."

"It may be that she'll be the one who serves as a rolemodel. Nyanza isn't going to become any more impressionable than she is right now."

"Do you really think you can make a huntress out of her? I looked her in the eyes and she's a killer."

Ozpin didn't look up at that assessment. "When you met her, yes. When I met her… perhaps not. Time will tell." Then his head craned upwards to study the sky above the forest. "That might not have been the impression I was hoping she'd make."

RWBY

This has got to be the craziest thing I've ever done! Even if I got all my memories back, there can't be anything to top this!

Nyanza had both hands driven into the feathers of a Nevermore and the only thing between the winged Grimm and the forest below was hundreds of feet of empty air.

"This is great!" Ruby called out. "I can see the whole forest."

The Nevermore rolled, as if in response to the cry and Nyanza could see the entire forest too. It was directly downwards.

Fortunately Jaune isn't with us, she noted privately. I don't want to have to wash a spray of his regurgitated breakfast out of my clothes. "Do you see the temple?" she asked out loud.

"Uh…"

Even from this height, there was a lot of forest. "Look north?" she suggested, craning her neck around.

"Which way is north?"

Nyanza grimaced. The sun was too high in the sky to be sure. "I'm not…" The Nevermore wheeled and something grey went across her vision. A cliffside… and Beacon's tower off in the distance. "That way! Towards the school!"

"Right…" Ruby swung Crescent Rose and smacked the bird across one side of it's skull. "Go that way."

Instead the grimm pulled a tight turn, forcing them both to cling on with both hands or be thrown off. "I don't think it takes directions well!" Nyanza called out. "Maybe we should just jump off."

"We're awfully high!"

"Well we can work on our landing strategies!" Anyway, after you'd fallen far enough you didn't fall any faster… or was that wrong? She thought she remembered something about that. And they'd managed earlier.

Ruby shook her head. "What if the birdie comes after us?"

Nyanza wasn't sure if her glare conveyed 'this was your idea' sufficiently. "Then shoot it!" A horrible thought crossed her mind. "You're not out of ammo are you?"

The younger of the two shook her head. "No, I'm fine."

"Then…"

A shrill scream came from below them.

"Some girl's in trouble!" Without any hesitation, Ruby rolled off the back of the Nevermore and plunged downwards towards the northern edge of the forest.

"...and her name is Ruby Rose?"

The Nevermore didn't seem to appreciate the comment… but having one of its two unwelcome burdens in sight did seem to take its fancy and the giant black bird folded its wings and dived after Ruby.

Nyanza looked down and decided to wait until the bird was lower before disembarking. In the meantime, she focused on creating more of the 'ash-bombs' she'd made earlier, burying each in among the feathers of the Nevermore. They probably wouldn't kill the thing… but setting its feathers on fire would make her feel ever so much better...


	5. Players and Pieces

**Players and Pieces**

Yang Xiao Long was having a difficult day.

Not so much the Grimm or finding the temple - for someone as generally fantastic as her, these were minor issues.

No, these were important things and things to do with her little sister - which made them doubly important.

Firstly, she still didn't know what was going on between Ruby and that amber-eyed brunette… (Yang glanced sideways at her partner) The other amber-eyed brunette, that was. The one without the bow.

Secondly, Ruby was still somewhere out in the forest. Probably not a huge problem - all the other hunters should be coming this way, so even if Ruby got fixated on their weapons it should bring her in the right direction. But what good sister wouldn't worry?

Thirdly, she didn't know who Ruby was partnered with. She'd have happily partnered with her but it would probably be best if Ruby found a partner for herself (thereby making a new friend) but also wound up on the same team as her loving and magnificent older sister (thereby having some support). Yang looked at Blake again. She and Ruby seemed to have been beginning to hit it off before whitey and her sister's new trauma (seriously, what had happened?) turned up to spoil things, so Blake shouldn't mind being on a team with Ruby. The trouble was, from what Yang had seen during her own landing, Ruby had ended up in the same part of the forest as that Jaune goof and whitey. Either of whom was dangerous in their own way.

And now people kept arriving in crazy fashions.

Jaune, catapulting out of the sky and bouncing all the way into the ruins and scattering all the chess piece relics they were here from.

Nora, riding an Ursa. Enough said.

Ren, chasing after an Ursa and a girl crazy enough to ride one. It's not that she minded having some eye candy arrive but maybe one with more stamina… no, bad Yang. Not the time!

And now Pyrrha Nikos herself arrived, chased by a deathstalker about the size of a bus.

"I can't take it any more! What's next, is someone going to fall from the sky?"

There was a crash from the forest and Blake shaded her eyes to look south towards it. "Yang… you may not believe this..."

"Someone fell from the sky?"

"I think it's your sister."

"What! Ruby!" Yang broke into a sprint towards the site of the landing.

"Yang!" Okay, there was her sister, waving. "Yang! Look out!"

What? Why was she pointing upwards?

There was an explosion. Yang looked up and saw a plunging Nevermore break off from what looked like a strafing run. Good reason! Feathers were raining down, but fortunately not in the 'hail of bleeding death' way the aerial Nevermores were known for - more of a 'blasted off the grimm' sort of way.

And was that someone somersaulting off it?

The blonde skidded to a halt and backpedalled before the tumbling figure straightened and crashed into the ground, landing in a crouch with one hand supporting her and back turned to Yang. Quite a back too. Girl had style, Yang would give her points for that.

"Well, one hundred percent improvement on landing strategies," the new arrival noted to herself as she straightened up. "Ruby? Are you alright?"

Wait, this was the same girl from earlier. What was she doing with… oh no.

"Nyanza! Hang on, I'm coming!"

Wasn't Ruby scared of the older girl? Or at least avoiding her - which she wasn't even doing with Weiss Schnee despite repeated clashes yesterday. "How are you partners now?"

RWBY

With ruthless efficiency, Nyanza avoided an awkward conversation by leaving Ruby to explain the situation to her sister. Besides, Yang was going to be attached to Nyanza's partner for the next few minutes anyway so…

"Blake, Pyrrha. Hi." She looked around. "Oh, Jaune. You made it. Hi, people I haven't met yet."

"I'm Nora!" the ginger proclaimed.

The boy next to her gave Nyanza a measuring look. "Ren."

"Nyanza Doe. Nice to meet you… now, is anyone missing a partner?"

Blake nodded subtly towards Yang and Nora grabbed hold of Ren's arm. "We're together!" she announced. "Although not together-together because… that'd be weird but…"

"I hear you." Nyanza reached down and picked up a pair of black chess pieces. Both were queens. "Jaune, Pyrrha?"

"We're partners," Pyrrha said, helping the boy out of the stones where he'd been sprawled.

"Looks like we're all paired off then. And we need one relic per pair… anyone short?"

Jaune raised his hand. "We don't have one."

Nora waved a rook. "I'm the queen of the castle!"

"Good for you." Nyanza tossed her spare queen piece over to Jaune after Blake nodded towards her partner again. "So… I don't see that fighting more of the grimm gets us anywhere. How about we all head back to the cliffs together?"

"Who put you in charge?" asked Yang, suddenly returning to the conversation and swinging out verbally.

"Yaaaang!" Nyanza's partner puffed out her cheeks.

Nyanza sighed. "No Ruby, your sister did not put me in charge. Although she is giving me a headache, again," she finished in an only marginally softer voice.

"I'll make your head ache…" Yang yelped as Ruby elbowed her. "Okay, maybe we got off on the wrong foot." She glanced sideways. "You owe me an explanation, little sis," she added under her breath.

"Uh, guys?" Jaune pointed upwards. "That thing is circling around. Do we have time for this?"

Pyrrha looked around. "I think Nyanza has the right idea. We have what we came here for, so let's go."

"Oh fine." Yang headed for the slope deeper into the ruins and Nyanza followed her, as did the other six students. Up ahead there was a chasm right at the foot of the cliffs, spanned by a system of high towers and bridges of ancient stone.

The Nevermore cawed from above and behind as it swooped past, scattering the group as they took cover among pillars to avoid the large and sharp feathers flung down upon them. Pulling out of the dive, the huge black bird swept up and then settled to roost upon the top of the largest tower, glaring down at the bridge that they would have to cross.

"T-that's not good," panted Jaune.

"Maybe not," Nyanza agreed. She pointed back down the path they'd followed, where the deathstalker was making up ground. "But that might be worse."

"Oh man, run!" shouted Jaune

"Nora," Ren called as he brought out his weapons. "Distract it."

The ginger-haired girl didn't reply but she unlimbered her grenade launcher as she ran across the open ground between the pillars, feathers raining down behind her as the Nevermore decided it wasn't going to let the ground-bound grimm take its prey.

"Look out!" The giant scorpion's claws closed just short of Nora as Ruby doubled back and parried them with Crescent Rose. Each of the claws was easily larger than the fifteen year old and she was swept off her feet, knocking into Nora and both girls tumbled backwards towards the bridge.

"Go, go!" Pyrrha turned as she reached the mid-point of the bridge, shifting her spear into rifle mode and trying to suppress the oncoming deathstalker.

"Pyrrha! Look out!" Jaune cried out. He, Yang and Blake were in the lead and he'd glanced over his shoulder to see the Nevermore making another low pass.

This time it barrelled straight through the stone bridge, shattering it and throwing both Nyanza and the crimson-haired Mistrallian into the air.

Flinging one hand out, Nyanza generated a fiery burst between the two of them, propelling each back towards different sides of the broken arch.

"Gotcha!" Jaune threw himself forward, locking one hand on his partner's wrist. "Oh crap…" he added as her weight began to pull him off the ragged pier left of this side of the bridge.

A strong hand caught hold of his ankle. "I got you, Vomit-Boy. Ruby!"

Over on the far side, Ruby had wedged the blade of Crescent Rose into the unsteady stones, extending the haft just far enough for Nyanza to catch it. Even with the girl hanging onto the ground end, the balance was precarious - a second blast threw Nyanza up before either they or the bridge lost the battle against torsion forces and she landed on both high-heels.

"Thanks." She patted Ruby on the shoulder… but her eyes didn't get past where the Deathstalker had just herded Nora and Ren out onto the stone and away from whatever cover there might have been on the land. The four of them were trapped.

Yang heaved back and then used her free hand to catch hold of Pyrrha. "We have to help them!"

Blake opened fire on the Nevermore, which was turning for a second pass. "We've got to stay alive first. That thing's tougher than it looks."

"Hit it with everything we have!"

The three girls opened up on the incoming black bird while Jaune stared helplessly at it. "I really need a gun."

"It's not working!" Yang grabbed Pyrrha to pull her towards the tower. In turn, the redhead caught hold of Blake and drew her in the same direction. The bow-haired girl tried to do the same with Jaune but missed as he set his shield and darted forward unexpectedly.

"Dontmissdontmiss!" he cried out and leapt, sword in hand and legs pinwheeling, towards the Nevermore.

"Jaaaaune!" his partner cried out as the blond intercepted their enemy and what was left of the bridge came apart.

Over on the far side of the bridge, the other four students were backed up against a long drop. "I've got an idea," Ruby decided.

"Is it anything like the one with the Nevermore!"

"I liked that, it looked fun!" declared Nora.

"We're not riding the Nevermore," Ren informed them all flatly.

"We just need to pin it for a few seconds."

"Both claws and the tail?"

"Just the claws," Ruby insisted to her partner.

"That… might be doable. I've got the left." Nyanza took a half-step forwards. This was going to take perfect timing.

Ren moved forward on her flank. "On your right."

"What do I do?" Nora exclaimed.

Ruby braced herself. "When I tell you to hit it, hit it as hard as you can!"

The other girl's eyes seemed to sparkle. "You have the best plans!"

"Is she always like that?" asked Nyanza.

The boy nodded quietly and then his violet eyes narrowed and he folded his pistols away. "Here it comes…"

Finally confident that the stone would bear its weight, the Deathstalker crossed onto the bridge itself, claws reaching for the two human morsels offering themselves to it. Each claw closed in and the pair reached out, focusing their aura into their hands and bracing their feet.

Nyanza grunted as she closed her fingers on the outsides of the grimm's right claw and forced it to close short of her. She could hear the tiny chimes around one ankle sounding as she shook under the weight.

Across from her, Ren gasped with exertion, feet actually cracking into the stone beneath them. "Do it -"

A red blur streaked between them and there was a very pink exploision from behind.

"- now."

With a wet-sounding thunk the Deathstalker's tail was severed near the tip by Crescent Rose and then Ruby reached the tail herself, running up it and reversing her momentum until she reached the end and was going back over the grimm's back, Crescent Rose's blade aimed downwards. "Nora!"

"Coming doooooowwwwn!" the last of the team giggled as she cartwheeled in the air, grenade launcher unfolding into an impressive hammer.

The hammer-head struck the back of Crescent Rose and drove the wicked point of the weapon into the gap between the Deathstalker's head and body.

For a horrible moment, Nyanza thought their partners had missed their mark… and then the strength went out of the claw she was holding. Ren fell to hands and knees, panting and the young woman felt rather tempted to do the same. "Good work," she said instead as Nora and Ruby improvised a triumphant secret handshake from where they stood on the monster's back.

RWBY

Back across the bridge things weren't looking as promising.

"Don't shoot!" Pyrrha warned. "You could hit Jaune."

"Well we have to do something!" Yang shouted.

"Aaaaaaaaaah!" the boy screamed encouragingly as the Nevermore made another pass by their position. He'd managed to jam his sword, Crocea Mors, into the bird's side. "Keep firing!"

"But we might hit you!" shouted Pyrrha.

Blake raised Gambol Shroud in pistol mode and resumed fire, aiming carefully. "He has a shield," she stated quietly.

Yang reloaded Ember Cecilia. "And if we do nothing, it's gonna scrape him off sooner or later."

Pyrrha made a discontented noise of agreement and aimed Miló, firing slowly and deliberately to avoid Jaune's position on the Nevermore.

With a screech of anger the Nevermore wheeled over and then tucked its wings together, diving entirely through the upper levels of the tower. Yang and Blake pounded shots into the white mask covering the upper face of the grimm until the last minute and then flung themselves in opposite directions as the massive stones were hurled in all directions. The blonde rolled down one of the other bridges while Blake simply reshaped her weapon into kusari-gama form and swung out into the air away from the crumbling architecture.

While the other two dodged, Pyrrha had charged headlong at the bird. Its beak opened as it saw prey literally throwing itself down its throat, but the young woman had other plans. Miló shifted in her hands from rifle to spear and as the beak closed, the full weight of the Nevermore's jaws drove both ends into its flesh while Pyrrha herself sidestepped and caught hold of Jaune.

The pair sailed out into the air as the Nevermore beat its wings in agony, bringing down tons of stone above it while critically losing momentum.

Reaching out, Pyrrha snagged hold of Blake's wrist as the young woman swung around and the three of them had just enough upwards momentum from the monochrome girl that they were able to reach the lip of another bridge.

It took Jaune a moment to gather his wits and by the time he'd risen to hands and knees both girls were standing and watching as the uppermost levels of the tower finished pulverising the Nevermore. "Is that it… did we get it?"

"I think so," Pyrrha told him.

"Hey!" called Yang, jogging along the bridge. "I got your spear!" she called over to Pyrrha. "Let's go check on the others."

RWBY

There was applause from the crowd in the amphitheatre Professor Ozpin announced each new team that had completed their initiation into the first year. Quite a lot of applause in fact - the seats were filled by teachers and by their fellow students, many of them now looking back on their own trials with the perspective of a year or more.

Faces appeared on the displays above the dais as Ozpin summoned each new team. "Dove Bronzewing, Cardin Winchester, Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie."

Ruby made a disappointed noise as their comrades from the fight in the forest had to break off to join the other two students. "I wanted to be on a team with them."

"No reason we can't still be friends," Nyanza pointed out quietly as she clapped politely. Ruby wasn't wrong - they had worked together well… even if Nora was louder than a bullhead at times - every waking moment, for example.

"The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces," Ozpin declared. "From this day forward you will work together as Team Cardinal, led by Cardin Winchester."

The tall, muscular boy named showed no particular reaction to the nomination, keeping his arms folded behind his back. Nora grabbed hold of both her other two team-mates around their shoulders and swung her legs back and forth. Ren took that with more aplomb than the rather startled Dove.

Nyanza glanced at the other pairs. If pairs of partners were grouped by which pieces had been chosen… She saw Yang glare at her, having come to the same conclusion.

"Jaune Arc," Ozpin called as Team CRDN left the stage. "Ruby Rose, Pyrrha Nikos, Nyanza Doe. The four of you retrieved the black queen pieces. From this day forward you will work together as Team Juniper, led by Jaune Arc."

The boy started and touched his chest. "Led by…?"

The silver-haired headmaster inclined his head fractionally in confirmation. "Congratulations, young man."

Jaune's partner added a beaming smile and punched him approvingly in the upper arm, knocking the startled blonde from his feet to both his and Pyrrha's embarrassment as the audience laughed. Nyanza and Ruby each offered him a hand up as Professor Goodwitch gestured for them all to make room for the next team.

"Well done," Nyanza said under her breath. She wasn't sure if she was congratulating their new leader, or backhandedly criticising the redhead for her over-reaction.

"This is going to be great!" Ruby exclaimed, punching the air.

"Blake Belladonna, Russel Thrush, Weiss Schee and Yang Xiao Long," Ozpin continued. "The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward you will work together as Team Ruby, led by Russel Thrush."

That got a startled look from the white-haired girl who'd been such a headache yesterday towards the mohawked boy who was apparently her partner. Yang took the announcement better, reaching past Weiss to shake hands with her new leader. Even Blake unbent enough to nod politely.

"Rather your sister than me," Nyanza murmured to Ruby as the other teams formed up with them.

"Maybe she'll be friendlier now?"

"I'd settle for about a half-octave quieter."

Jaune offered Russel his hand. "Congratulations."

"Sure," the mohawked boy said, with a sidelong look at his team - Yang had lifted Ruby off the ground with a hug while Blake was standing next, but not too close, to Pyrrha and Nyanza. "You too."

Both of the boys turned as one to look at Cardin Winchester who took advantage of his height to stare disdainfully down at them until they turned away.

"Nyanza!" Nora called, completely ignoring the next team being called up onto stage. "Can you make pancakes?"

What? "I don't think I've ever tried," Nyanza admitted. "Why?"

"Ren can make pancakes. And you held that grimm off like he did so…"

"Nora," the boy in question put one hand on her shoulder. "That's not how it works."

"It isn't!?"

Professor Goodwitch twitched from where she was overseeing the first years.

"Looks like an interesting year," Ozpin murmured to her.

RWBY

"He did something to her."

Mercury shook his head at his team-mate. "Do you really think that Torchwick could get the better of her? Particularly after, you know..."

Emerald tilted her head in consideration. "I'm not saying he'd fight her head on."

"Well he's not an idiot."

"Debateable."

The slate-haired boy shook his head. "He's been running circles around the local police for years. There's a reason Cinder picked him as her agent for gathering dust. But you're right, being trustworthy isn't the reason."

"So what do we do?" She made to rise. "Go get the information out of him?"

"Don't be stupid."

"You're stupid."

"He'll have back-up and right now we don't."

Emerald considered that. "We could go to -"

"That's an even worse idea. Without Cinder to back us, those animals would tear us apart."

She slumped back into her chair. "Well you think of something!"

Mercury frowned. "Whatever happened it was either really quiet or real noisy. In the latter case there should be a police report whether it was where he said or somewhere else in Vale. Can you get hold of those for the last week?"

"Don't be stupid."

"Was that a yes or a no?"

She stuck her tongue out. "And if it was quiet?"

"Then he's hiding a body." Mercury rolled his shoulders. "That's not as easy as it might sound. There are rats in every town. It's just a matter of finding the right one."

"You don't mean actual rats, right?"

Mercury sighed. "No, Emerald."

"Because right now we're sharing an apartment and if you bring rats back with you I'll have to burn the building down."

"No real rodents are involved. And bringing anyone back to the apartment would be a terrible idea."

The girl nodded and then froze. "Mercury?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you know how long the rent's paid up for?"

He grimaced. "No, but I guess we'd better figure that out too."


End file.
